This is the finishing post that I wrote in the Mindset Mastery eBook. I find it quite relevant for the book from a motivational point of view. Sometimes, when you write during an inspired moment, words come out that seem to come from “elsewhere”. This was such an inspired moment for me.
Live Your Passion – by Sean Rasmussen
You have just completed reading a very powerful book, originally written by Napoleon Hill: Think And Grow Rich. I strongly encourage you to locate the original book and read it. This current version was edited by me to modernize it and bring more “current” relevance to the story. The principles remain the same.
I know some very successful people that read this book once every year. It is their Bible. Consider that! Ideally read it at least 7 times. Over 7 years is fine. Just do it.
Take onboard the principles of this book. Internalize them. Make them part of your “mental algorithm”. Napoleon Hill has supplied you with the recipe for Success. Use it and prosper. Ignore it at your own peril. There are no excuses for non-achievers. I thought I had the excuses and reasons. I didn’t. The day I accepted that, my life turned for the better. I am in charge of my own destiny.
So are you!
One of the saddest things I have ever heard was the reply from an elderly person in her twilight years, when asked: “What would you have done different in your life, if you had another chance?”
The reply was a determined yet solemn: “I would have taken more risks”!
I don’t know about you, but that sends a chill down my spine. Don’t allow that to happen! I believe we all have the responsibility to stand on our own two feet and have an excess of success, health, wealth, happiness, abundance and anything else that goes with it. To have enough wealth that it overflows into the pockets of those who are not as fortunate as us; people who have had a rough start to life or have suffered bad setbacks.
Have faith in yourself and the power of your mind when encountering skepticism from friends and “loved ones”. Beware the authority of their opinions. Just how qualified are they really to pass judgment on success? Are they successful themselves? Are they healthy, happy and wealthy? If so, why have they got an “expert”opinion when happy, wealthy, successful and satisfied people generally DO NOT pass judgment?
Don’t let their decisions hold you back. You have no-one but yourself to thank or blame when asked the “Twilight-Years” question:
“What would you have done different in your life, if you had another chance?”
Personally, I have had a few rough breaks. However, none of which I can blame anyone for. I tried to place blame and that temporarily justified my setbacks and non-achievements. This also cemented my place in running for the “non-achiever awards”. Certainly not a trophy anyone would like to win? I have now changed my attitude and outlook on life. A whole new world has opened up for me and guess what? It was there all along!
Live your life with passion. Follow the path of your desires. Make your life one you are proud of when the time comes to leave it all behind. Live your life on your own terms and leave with a sense of achievement; one of satisfaction.
And remember: “Life is not short. It is the longest thing anyone ever does”.
So get into it and make a difference. Good luck! I wish you well.
Live Your Passion
Sean Rasmussen
Success Communicator
SeanRasmussen.com © 2004 – 2008
You can read about downloading the book here: Mindset Mastery eBook
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
Sean-great insight. I’ve been listening to Think and Grow rich for years (great use of time in the car). Periodically I need to “reset” my attitude. This drives me to listen to the book many times over the years.
The biggest step forward I took was when I took responsibility for my life. Napoleon Hill wasn’t the only one to preach this. Everyone from Stephen Covey to Tony Robbins teach it because you can’t improve until you take ownership of your life.
Keep up the great posts!
I, too, like this idea as radio music can get tiring and this would wake a fellow or lass up and get the listener pumped. Once the vehicle was stopped at the destination the listener is then motivated to be there best at the location they arrived. Great idea!
Sarah Butland´s last blog ..You Are the Reason I Know It Will Happen
Hi B Smith
I like the idea of listening to motivational material in the car. I basically listen to stuff like this twice a day for 45 minutes in my car. Then, every now and again, I have a rest and just listen to music for a few days up to a week. Then I’m back into it. It is very uplifting.
some good words of feeling in your comenets. I know without even asking my father and mother the question of what would you do if you had your life over what would you do differrent, and the answer would be to have a go at taking more risk, Dad see’s that one of his son’s in particular has taken risks and worked hard and it has come to gether for him. My self i have taken risks and been successfull but have also spent money a bit foolishly to. But this is all changing because i do not want to lose any of my assets.. thanks Sean
p.s i have just come back from a holiday in fiji and i have time on my side to do more study. eminis is looking good too.
Hi Richard
My mentor, [Name Withheld], just told me recently that you can build all areas of you life without ‘missing out’ on any of the others. If you are starting to feel more comfortable with your financial situation then you can focus a bit more on the other areas of your own interest. This could be health, fitness, spirituality or wealth. Some may interest you more than others. [Name Withheld] always seems to come up with the good answers.
Have fun with your homestudy program.
I totally agree Sean. In fact as a child I was perplexed by the lack of ‘questioning’ my so called teachers (teachers, parents and so on) did. It’s as if most of us have accepted to be mediocre.
If we can continue living our lives like our young children – asking Why’s and What’s and How’s at every moment the world would offer us a world (forgive the pun) of wonders. Like I read once, wouldn’t it be phenomenal to wake up and discover the world and yourself every day? To discover a new body part when it was there all along?
Sarah Butland´s last blog ..You Are the Reason I Know It Will Happen
Hi ‘FMF’
Indeed that seems to be a very common thing. We reward mediocricy in School and very much in the grown up world. I wont go into detail on that one. I covered it in the comments section in this blog a few months ago. I agree and I, for one, will ensure my kids don’t grow up with a ’scarcity mentality’.
“Life is not short. It is the longest thing anyone ever does”.
The best thought I have seen in a long time Sean. Inspiring. Congratulations.
“Life is not short. It is the longest thing anyone ever does”
I borrowed that one from Billy Connolly – Scottish comedian. He is an absolute legend. Who said you can’t get motivational quotes from a commedian…
Thank you Sean,
I feel your ebook & your teaching has with out a doubt pointed my lifes efforts in the direction I have been trying to acheive for far to long.
regards
Allen
Hi Allen
Thanks again! I’m starting to realise just how great Napoleon Hill was (OK, I already knew this and now it has much more significance)
I appreciate your kind words.
Thankyou for your help much appreciated
You’re very much welcome, John. Thanks for your input.
Whenever someone comments in here, I know I’m being of help or service to someone. Thank you!
Sean
Thank you for ALL of the effort that you put in to EMPOWERING others. You inspire me to move forward, to take risks, to make a difference in this world and also to EMPOWER others!
Cheers
Leanne
Hi Leanne
Empowerment works both ways. By empowering others, I am empowering myself. You are empowering me by commenting here in the Mindset Mastery blog. Thank you!
If you reflect on your life and decide you wouldn’t do anything differently, then you begin to sense what it means to experience unconditional acceptance. To move beyond regret and asking what you might’ve, could’ve or should’ve done, you focus more energy on what you can control in the here and now. Napoleon Hill is a great writer. His writing inspires people to rediscover who they are and what potential they forgot they had.
Hi Liara
Napoleon is an inspiration to so many and “Think and grow rich” is certainly an all time classic. Thanks!
Great post Sean.
I take risks, and I’d say that is what has made me be who I am today. I’m not scared to fail, because I know that I tried and that’s all that counts. And I know failing does not mean that I’m a failure, it means that there is a different way of doing things.
Hi Dark Angel.
I left a comment on your blog
Failing is a tool and a stepping stone on the way to success. Without failures, we are bound to fail (is that an oxymoron?) as we cannot have true success without the experience of failures.
Failure is feedback as well.
Elly´s last blog ..
Hello Sean,
I’ve said it elsewhere, but you and Shaun gave me an inspiring weekend to remember. My passions are being dredged up from the depths… can’t wait to get to activate them!
I have activated and written my blog on uwcblog.co. However, I do not know how to add the link for people to buy your book, somehow that instruction has got lost.
I would like to try & sell your book for you, but am stuck.
Hope you can help me…..
Hi Sean,
If I had to live life over I would also take more chances but I’m ready to take them now and make up for lost time. I am taking full responsibility for where I am in my life and I’m ready to make the necessary changes to live the life I dream of.
I’m ready to live my life on my terms; the right way.
Hi Sean,
If I had to live my life over I would do it all differently. I admire people who say they would do it all the same again. Good luck to them but that’s not me.
I am ready to apply the second half of my life to achieve more positive results. That involves a lot of learning, so be it.
Growing up with a terrible alcoholic father who abused me all I knew was I didn’t want to end up like him when I grew up. So essentially I used him as my ‘yard stick’ to say what I didn’t want as opposed to what I DID WANT.
It’s hard to focus on myself when all my life, everything revolved around him. It was hard once I moved away from that & he stopped drinking to focus on my passion. There was so much crap to sort through. I am grateful for it all – I wouldn’t be who I am today without that experience. And to some degree fuels my passion.
Samantha Banfield´s last blog ..Sean Rasmussen and his crazy talk!
Hi Sam,
You are so right; until we find out otherwise, it is just the start to know what we don’t want. The turn-around happens when we use this to work out what we DO want. And then, reminding ourselves to keep an eye on the new direction and not look back.
Jo Carey-Bradshaw´s last blog ..Empowering Mindset – Mindfulness
Thanks Jo. I find I have to pay such close attention to my new direction as I can get off course very easily. Years of hurt & pain can scar but I know it is up to me – strength is hard to hang onto.
Samantha Banfield´s last blog ..Sean Rasmussen and his crazy talk!
Hi Sam
You are already strong – just to have got here. Make a list of all the instances you have endured and tick each one you got through. You will surprise yourself. This is your strength; that you are who you are, and where you are in spite of the ‘that,’ You are far more than you have dreamed of. You have made choices for your life with huge examples of what you have discovered you really do not prefer. Give thanks that all these ideals are so embedded within you now. And use the examples to define what the ideals are that you want.
For me, for example, Harm no-one. for I know for sure what it is like to be intentionally harmed. (its a bit like a synonym/antonym thing). Focus. Use whatever tool it takes, and as many as it takes. I have faith in you. Believe in you – I do.
Jo Carey-Bradshaw´s last blog ..Empowering Mindset – Mindfulness
Hi Sam
Despite what you have been through you still live your passion for humour.
I have found the easiest way to be strong is to just concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. Eventually you will get where you need to go. Just don’t stand in one spot for too long.
Keep your mind on what you want to achieve. Have a great reason for getting up every day.
I am a risk taker, but lately a calculated risk taker. I have taken far too many uncalculated risks in my life and found that most of them didn’t work out too well altho a couple of them had spectacularly fantastic results that enabled me to live my passion. I still take risks much to the annoyance of my wife. But nowadays I have “Maggie’s decision destroyer” to help me decide whether to take a risk or not.
Wal Heinrich´s last blog ..Think And Grow Rich Mindset Mastery
Too many of us have grown up with paying more attention to what everybody around you says or thinks or does and no emphasis on your own ideas and values. That’s sad. But we all have the chance to learn throughout our whole life. There is the option of constant self improvement, of putting a focus on what is important for you and going for it (without harming anybody around you).
“Life is the longest thing anybody ever does” – make the best out of it!
Renee´s last blog ..Definition Of Motivation
Sean you make a good point about whose opinions we should allow to influence our goals. It seems much better to listen to those who have achieved something and provide a positive example, rather than those who have not achieved but doubt whether something can be done.
By way of example, there are plenty of doctors who get sick and financial planners who aren’t rich. Rather than following their advice, I’d rather listen to those people who model what I am after.
Tom McEwin´s last blog ..Explaining the ClickBank Affiliate Program Terms of Use – Part 1 – a Sheriff with 8 Deputies
I look at my elders and sometimes my mind is taken to where there’s may be and what they may have wanted to do differently. I ask if they are happy and they say they are but then fill my mind with complaints, gossip and negativity. I don’t want to be in my twilight years sharing my complaints with my grandchildren or anyone with the time to listen. When I’m there I want to be sharing all of my successes, what I love about my friends and the ability and positive outlook I have today.
Sarah Butland´s last blog ..You Are the Reason I Know It Will Happen
Hi Sam,
I agree with Jo, you’re great. You have so much going for you from where i have seen.
You’re lucky you get on with your mother. All we can do is our best as I see it.
There is nothing we can really do about what happens to us when we are children. It’s the decisions we make as adults that can help change our lives for the better.
You are very pretty and talented and like Jo, I have faith in you as well.
Best wishes, Sam.
Jill Brown´s last blog ..Common Law Marriage – What is Common Law Marriage?
Your words on passion Sean are very inspiring!
Hey Sean,
I like the imagery of pockets overflowing with abundance into the pockets of those of less abundance. I see it in a Reiki sense where you aren’t the source of the energy (in this case, abundance or money), but a conduit for it. Looking forward to add my section of pipe to the plumbing!
Just a thought!
Pete
Pete´s last blog ..peteboyr: @bullhunter Thanks, Sean. Just reviewing the webinar, and will get to your blogs after that. Big night ahead, pizza on the way!
Hi Sean,
This is such a wonderful post and uplifting words on positivity, succeeding, winning, going for it etc are music to my ears and heart.
I have Napoleon Hill to thank for catapulting me out of a very depressing and soul destroying life many years ago when I was a teenager. I came across his book and a book by Maxwell Maltz ‘Cyber Cybernetics’ because I was obviously meant to at the time. I was very fortunate to read those books as they were speaking to me in the form of the only 2 wise people in my life and I am so grateful to those men for writing those books so that I may receive them.
The words written truthfully by people who have hit bottom and made a resounding recovery need to be read diligently and acted on as these people have the answers to creating a success of ourselves.
There are no mystical magical secrets in Mr Hills’ book, it is all common sense, which by the way is very uncommon if you look around. Good sound advice in every page.
If you haven’t found your passion yet, what about having a passion for living and feed your mind with positive, uplifting thoughts every day. Like Sean says, don’t go for the non achievers award. Knock those negative thoughts on the head as they are only thoughts and poerless unless you start to follow them or act on them.
Life is such a wonderful experience and we don’t want to have any regrets when we have the power right now to take positive action and write our own life scripts.
Thanks Sean, I really love this post (as you can probably tell)
Blessings
Elly
Elly´s last blog ..
I know my passion. I will live my dream. I’ve had many excuses in the past for my failures. But, they are just excuses and the failures are lessons.
Living your passion is key to an enjoyable, successful life. Very often our friends and family don’t know us as well as they think.
You say “Have faith in yourself and the power of your mind when encountering skepticism from friends and “loved ones”. Beware the authority of their opinions.” I am sure these friends and loved ones mean it well, but deep down they have their own best interest at heart, and that might not include me moving far away to fullfil my dream or what else is necessary to follow my passion.
So yes, everybody needs to listen to him/herself and do what is important to them, if possible without hurting the others on the way
Renee´s last blog ..Definition Of Motivation
Hi Renee,
I’m sure that your family did not want you to go so far away from them. But, I think they would rather that you fulfilled your dream than stay at home and be unhappy.
I think when we find the courage to follow our dreams, and catch them, our families will be incredibly proud that we had what it took to live our passion.
Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Sean Rasmussen – Aussie Internet Marketer Making a Difference